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Meet The Market Managers: Jay Davis, Cumulus Media Oklahoma City
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At face value, it makes little sense given the public sentiment towards both propositions on the ballot having trended towards rejection over the past two months.
Listeners to KGO 810 AM in San Francisco were tuned into The Mark Thompson Show last Thursday morning when it was abruptly removed from the air. After 80 years of having a news talk format, the 50,000 watt station began playing songs pertaining to money and gambling. People rightly deduced that the format would be changing to feature sports betting content, and that was confirmed by Monday morning’s announcement of the station’s rebranding to 810 The Spread.
The press release from Cumulus laid out the new format for the station, which joins 680 KNBR and 1050 KTCT in their San Francisco sports portfolio. The schedule will feature CBS Sports Radio programming overnight and will air The Jim Rome Show in the mornings. But more importantly, it will feature quite a bit of sports gambling content from Audacy.
Given the growing behemoth that is sports betting in this country, the move shouldn’t be surprising. Online sports betting is a multi-billion dollar industry in this country, and as we’ve discussed many times in this column it’s not going anywhere but up. Bringing that content to one of the largest markets in the country makes total sense.
That is, it makes total sense until you remember the small matter of online sports betting not being legal in the state of California.
Despite millions of dollars in fundraising and a heavily targeted ad campaign, it’s looking quite unlikely that the voters of the Golden State will be approving either Prop 26 or Prop 27 when they head to the polls in just four weeks.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported multiple books including DraftKings and FanDuel pulled more than $11 million in advertisement buys scheduled to air between now and Election Day. Furthermore, an update posted by California policy and politics blog CalMatters stated last Wednesday that “both sports betting ballot measures are underwater” in a battle that has seen nearly $450 million spent in advertising and campaigning.
All of this makes the decision by Cumulus quite intriguing. At face value, it makes little sense given the public sentiment towards both propositions on the ballot having trended towards rejection over the past two months. Given that fact, one might wonder why they would switch the format — especially with the reactions the news brought from upset fans of the independent talk shows on the station being canceled.
But I see multiple factors as to why it’s a calculated risk, and one that could pay off. First, take into consideration the reach that the station has. Many areas with legalized online sports betting , like Colorado and Oregon are able to pick up the signal at night. While both states broadcast content from the BetQL network, there are areas that KGO can reach that those affiliates cannot.
That’s one of the biggest draws for Nick Kostos, the host of You Better You Bet which now airs weekdays from 12-4pm on KGO. “It’s really awesome knowing we’re adding an amazing new market like San Francisco, which speaks to the continued growth of the BetQL Network,” Kostos said when reached for comment on the announcement. “I can’t wait for everyone in the Bay Area to hear YBYB’s brand of wagertainment, where Ken and I inform you on sports betting and entertain you while doing it.”
Secondly, there’s never anything wrong with trying to sway people to come to your side. While Prop 26 and 27 are going to fail, they aren’t necessarily failing because there’s not an appetite for sports betting. The props just simply fail to address real concerns of their opponents, such as the low taxation rate on revenues and the revenue-share provided to tribes in the state. Flooding the airwaves with sports betting programming will build a loyal audience of those who currently bet in other ways–such as off-shore books or local bookies–and may help sway some voters ahead of what is sure to be the next ballot proposition in 2023 or 2024.
The format change for KGO was also likely a smart financial choice. The current advertisement-driven model of talk radio is becoming more difficult to maintain, especially as we prepare to enter another recession where budgets will get even tighter. Now the station sets itself up to draw even more advertising revenue when the next legalization attempt takes place.
We will find out for certain in four weeks what the people of California think of Props 26 and 27, but it will take much longer to find out how Cumulus’ decision pays off. There’s a possibility that listenership will drop for KGO without sports betting being available in the state. But it’s almost a certainty that sports betting will become legalized in the state at some point, once the powers that be figure out a structure that appeases all parties involved including the public. When that happens, Cumulus will have put themselves in a terrific position as early entrants into the area by betting on themselves.
Jason Ence resides in Louisville, KY and is fully invested in the sports betting space. Additionally, he covers Premier League and Serie A soccer, college football, and college basketball for ESPN Louisville 680 including serving as the station’s University of Kentucky correspondent, and co-host of the UK football and basketball post-game shows. He can be found on Twitter @JasonUK17 and reached by email at jason.ence17@gmail.com.
Video Escalated Draymond Green-Jordan Poole Fight to Explosive Story
Video Escalated Draymond Green-Jordan Poole Fight to Explosive Story
1230 The Gambler Grabs Florida Panthers Radio Rights
Former Alabama Lineman Barrett Jones to Fill-In on Football Radio Broadcast
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This was ugly. If this had happened in public, Green would likely face aggravated assault charges.
A report from The Athletic on Wednesday that Golden State Warriors teammates Draymond Green and Jordan Poole had a “physical altercation” during practice raised attention. Scuffles between teammates are nothing new in sports. Also, considering how disruptive and antagonistic Green has been during his NBA career with opponents, it wasn’t difficult to imagine that he’d cause some irritation among his colleagues.
However, the report from Shams Charania and Anthony Slater made it clear that this was no typical practice spat with tempers flaring. Warriors management was considering disciplinary action against Green for what happened, indicating this was a serious matter.
Discord among the Warriors was potentially juicy news. Golden State is returning from a championship season, their fourth NBA title in the past eight years. And the team is the betting favorite to emerge from the Western Conference again with a chance to repeat as champions.
However, if there’s dissension among the roster which could possibly derail another Warriors championship run, that will be a season-long storyline to follow. Is there a schism between the veterans who established Golden State’s championship dynasty and the younger players who could continue that success? Is Green going to be problematic as long as management doesn’t sign him to a new contract?
With only reports and second-hand accounts of the altercation between Green and Poole, any rumblings attempting to explain what happened — or what might happen next — could be chalked up to innuendo and speculation. A lack of substantive information could even feed conspiracy theories for those who believed that the Warriors put this out there to avoid giving Green a new contract.
But then TMZ acquired video footage of the practice fight and released it to the public.
This was not two guys asking each other “¿Quién es más macho?” This was not boys being boys. This was not roughhousing after tempers flared. This was ugly; a direct punch to Poole’s jaw, not an open-hand slap. If this had happened in public, Green would likely face aggravated assault charges.
And with that video, reporting and analysis of the story drastically changed.
Reacting in The Athletic, longtime Warriors beat writer and columnist Marcus Thompson II laid out all the ways in which this could be destructive to the team. Most players, coaches, and officials didn’t see the punch when it happened. They saw it the same way we did. Green is supposed to protect players like Poole from opponents, not violently attack him. How could this not be viewed as a betrayal of trust?
Having covered Green for his entire career with Golden State, Thompson surmised that the 10-year veteran must be dealing with something off the court that would lead to such an outburst. Is it indeed his contract situation? Was a sensitive situation for Green inflamed by Poole, as reported by Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes?
Draymond Green was apologetic in aftermath of the altercation with Jordan Poole, but there was a buildup stemming from teammates noticing a change in Poole’s behavior throughout camp with the guard on the verge of securing a lucrative extension, league sources tell @YahooSports.
Green is going into his 11th season and possibly the final year of his contract. (He has a player option for the 2023-24 season, but could opt out if he’s seeking a maximum contract extension.)
Meanwhile, Poole is a rising star for the Warriors, breaking out in his third season to become a feared scoring threat alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. (Poole effectively filled in for Thompson, who was limited to 32 regular-season games while recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.) With his contract set to expire after the season, Golden State is reportedly ready to offer Poole an extension.
Yet even before the video came out, Curry, head coach Steve Kerr, and general manager Bob Myers disputed that Poole had been showing more attitude with his pending contract extension. Were they trying to stop a potential story before it could grow? Or was the team’s leadership attempting to establish what the video appeared to show, that this was all on Green and he presented a major threat to club harmony?
Draymond Green took ownership of his actions and personally apologized to Jordan Poole's family for the "huge embarrassment" that comes with the incident pic.twitter.com/DjT9vgnIDA
Without the video, fans and media might have attempted to interpret tension between Green and Poole (and other teammates). If Green seemed off his game, most would likely point to his his contract situation. If the Warriors begin the season with a shaky start, team chemistry would have been questioned. All of that would have been typical for following a team through an 82-game season.
But now we have the visual of Green punching Poole in the jaw. Can the Warriors get past that? How many workplaces would be able to, even if sports don’t often seem like real life to fans? Those questions will surely be asked as Green takes time away from the team.
Another storyline that has developed in light of the video going public is how it leaked to TMZ? Who did it? Was it someone associated with the team? Or close to Poole? That would create another wave of conspiracy theorizing about management trying to get rid of Green and more potential issues.
"Draymond Green is expecting this to be his last year in Golden State. Now, he wanna be a Laker. He ain't gonna tell anybody that, but don't think I don't know. He'd prefer to be a Laker if he gotta leave Golden State." 🗣️ @stephenasmithpic.twitter.com/jJzN7mExS6
If Green plays this season for Golden State, will opposing players attempt to antagonize him, hoping to elicit the kind of reaction that could disrupt his game, or get him ejected and suspended? And if Green’s behavior continues to be explosive, how could that affect a future contract with any other NBA team? Or, as Stephen A. Smith said on ESPN’s First Take, will Green be on his best behavior from here on out because he can’t afford not to be?
With a long regular season and TV, radio, and podcasts covering the increasingly popular NBA, the Green-Poole fight would have created plenty of content, especially in the early months of the campaign. If this confrontation had only been seen by a few, if it had been kept in-house, the story might have even fizzled out.
But the video changed everything. The footage might have created too explosive a situation to be covered up and forgotten. And the 2022-23 NBA season could be affected as a result.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
“FOX is going to need Greg Olsen in its top NFL play-by-play booth next year no matter what Tom Brady decides to do.”
FOX is really lucky to have a guy like Greg Olsen. Broadcasting is an ego-driven business. Even the nicest guys have a need to be the center of attention. You choose a job that puts you in front of a camera or behind a microphone because you want to be seen and heard. There’s nothing wrong with that. A desire to stand out is one of the key ingredients for success in this business.
That ego though can get in the way sometimes and derail your own goals or your employer’s plans. Greg Olsen didn’t indulge his ego this summer. That was a good thing for FOX at the time. It gave them a placeholder in the analyst’s chair on their top NFL broadcast until Tom Brady’s playing days are done.
Now? It seems like a pretty great thing. I hope the network is ready to reward that.
Who among us can say we have a good idea what the future holds for Brady? His personal life has been as big of a story or bigger than anything in the NFL since the preseason began. Even without knowing the intimate details of his absence from training camp or he and Gisele Bündchen hiring divorce attorneys, anyone that follows the news can see that the GOAT’s life is in turmoil right now.
I thought a lot about Brady’s future on Sunday as I first watched him lead my Buccaneers to victory over Atlanta and then stuck around for America’s Game of the Week on FOX. Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen are such a good broadcast team and I can’t help but wonder if we are going to be watching them for a little longer than we may have anticipated when Brady’s deal was first announced.
There is a seat in the booth waiting for Brady when he finally does retire. When the deal was first announced, you could understand why FOX was willing to cut the check they have promised. He’s 45-years-old, has won his Super Bowl without Bill Belichick, and already retired once. But now, if he really is on his way to a divorce, he may not be as motivated to hang up his cleats as he was in the summer.
Add to that the bad taste NBC’s Drew Brees experiment left in the industry’s mouth, and the Murdoch family, Eric Shanks, and Kevin Burkhardt are probably thanking their deity of choice that Olsen remains in the fold.
Not only is Greg Olsen a great analyst, he is also a great ambassador for FOX and the NFL. He is a fun, dynamic presence in radio interviews. You can hear that on national platforms like The Dan Patrick Show, but he is just as good when he calls into The Mac Attack on WFNZ in Charlotte.
Olsen may not be as famous as Tom Brady, but people are invested in him. They care about him. He played in Chicago, Charlotte, and Seattle. Those places all care about his family. The story of his son’s heart transplant last year brought prayers, well wishes, and celebrations from fans and colleagues all over the country.
FOX is going to need Greg Olsen in its top NFL play-by-play booth next year no matter what Tom Brady decides to do. If Brady decides he isn’t ready to retire after all, Kevin Burkhardt still has a partner he trusts and it is one the network already knows is great.
If Tom Brady does decide his playing days are over though, I don’t know that FOX should be thinking about re-assigning Olsen. The network has used three voices in its top NFL booth before. When John Madden left for Monday Night Football, the network turned to Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth. Collinsworth, the experienced player-turned-broadcaster, was a nice safety net for both Buck and the network as Aikman grew into his role.
Why not embrace a similar strategy? Tom Brady himself said that he has “a lot of shit going on.” It is fair not to expect him to be able to solely focus on broadcasting and nothing else. Why not give him every advantage as he transitions into a new field?
It would give FOX an advantage too, because Greg Olsen is excellent at what he does.
Demetri Ravanos is the Assistant Content Director for Barrett Sports Media. He hosts the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas. Previous stops include WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC. You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos and reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
In my estimation, there’s some sort of triumvirate formula of likeability, credibility, and social following that could lead to potential podcast network success.
During an appearance on The Dave Pasch Podcast last week, Mike Golic said he was approached by an unidentified party about starting a podcast network after he departed ESPN Radio.
If Golic had entered the podcast network game, it would have been the latest foray into the space made by several other prominent figures. Kevin Durant, Dan Patrick, Michelle Beadle, Colin Cowherd, and Jemele Hill have all launched podcast networks over the course of the last roughly two years, to varying degrees of success.
The revelation by Golic got my wheels turning. Who — in the sports world — could launch a new podcast network and see real, tangible success? I think there are fewer names than you might imagine.
In my estimation, there’s some sort of triumvirate formula of likeability, credibility, and social following that could lead to potential podcast network success.
I’ve kicked around this list for quite awhile, and while I’m certain there’s someone or several that could be argued, these were the names that jumped off the page to me that could be in the running to launch their own podcast networks and make an impact in the space.
Big Cat and PFT already host the biggest sports podcast on the planet. If they ever wanted to, and it certainly seems like they’re more than content to stay at Barstool, they could kickstart a project together that could be a juggernaut. However, it would be a direct competitor to Barstool Sports, and I’d venture to guess that’s just not something they’d entertain at this stage in their career. Nonetheless, they’re in the rare air of folks in the “could do it, if they wanted to” category, and that might be reason enough to command whatever price they want from Barstool in the future.
Big Cat has 1.5 million followers on Twitter and PFT has 994,000. They’ve got the following needed to create something, if they ever choose to do so.
For all the evidence you need for why Charles Barkley is on this list, simply hop in your time machine and return to mid-July, as the NBA on TNT flirting with joining the LIV Golf tour as a television commentator. His “Will he or won’t he?” contemplation dominated the sports media headlines, with nearly everyone in radio and television landing on a position of what he should or shouldn’t do.
Through all of his faults, and there are many, Barkley is one of the most entertaining figures in sports media, and I don’t think he’s going to lose that distinction anytime soon. The allure of “what in the world will he say on a podcast that he won’t already say on Inside the NBA?!” would be reason enough for his podcast to anchor a successful network.
Likeability? Check. Credibility? Check. Social media following? Check. The people have spoken and the people want Pat McAfee. Nearly everything has bounced the former Colts punter’s way during his short but meteoric rise in the industry. McAfee has shown a willingness to promote others, like his insistence that his current crew ascend to higher places in sports broadcasting by leaving his show, before they immediately shut him down. He’s shown the ability to market himself, and his brand, to some top advertisers that could help keep a podcast network afloat in its building phase.
To millions of college football fans, Paul Finebaum is an institution. And college football has somewhat lagged behind other sports in the podcast space. I’m not saying Finebaum could simply just create the college football version of “Locked On” or “Heavy On” or whatever team-centric podcast networks exist, but if he wanted to sit down and dedicate the final chapters of his already stellar career to creating a podcast platform for the sport he’s renowned for, I like his chances of success.
While not killing jewelry, Applebee’s, and fabric softener, among other things, us millennials have shown that, almost over anything, we value authenticity. It’s why people like McAfee and Scott Van Pelt continue to be highly-regarded. To borrow a phrase, Scott Van Pelt is just a guy being a dude. He’s authentic, he’s real, and he’s genuine. Millennials and Gen Z value those traits. He has credibility not only as a sports journalist, but also as a sports fan. He has elevated the profile of several other current and former folks in Bristol by association, and I think that would be seen in the podcast space as well.
Finally, I don’t know that I would go out on the limb and say that she herself could launch a podcast network, but I think Katie Nolan would be a logical choice to partner with someone to start a network or be a lead show. I’ve long been a fan of her work, and firmly believe that when she’s been given the opportunity to pick who she works with, she has shown the ability to be a difference maker in the avenues she has selected.
I’m sure I left someone glaringly obvious off my list. I tried to avoid someone like Peyton Manning and Omaha Productions, simply because they’re already dipping their toes into the space, and focus on those who aren’t already generally creating content on their own, but could step outside their current roles, ala Colin Cowherd and The Volume, to try to launch the next success podcast network.
Garrett Searight is the Editor of Barrett Sports Media and Barrett News Media. He previously was the Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH. He is also a play-by-play announcer for TV and Radio broadcasts in Western Ohio.
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